Loans Available For Stone Fruit Growers Hit By February Freeze

Posted by Christina Herrick|August 3, 2016

Community Involved In Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) is accepting applications for its Emergency Farm Fund from western Massachusetts farms whose stone fruit crop was damaged by the extreme cold snap in mid-February.

The deadline to apply is Aug. 26.

CISA’s Emergency Farm Fund was established in 2011 in partnership with Whole Foods Market and Equity Trust, as a response to the damage suffered by farms in western Massachusetts due to Hurricane Irene. Through the first round of loans, and a second round in 2013, the Fund has distributed $123,000 in loans to 14 farms.

Who May Apply: Loan applications will be accepted from farm owners who have experienced loss or damage to tree stone fruit crops as a result of the extreme cold snap in February of this year; reside and operate in the counties of Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties of western Massachusetts; and whose gross annual sales for 2015 are $20,000 or more. If your farm did not gross $20,000 or more in sales, please contact CISA at 413-665-7100 for more information.

Loan Amount and Rate: From $5,000 to $10,000 at a 0% interest rate, full repayment is expected within three years on a schedule determined on a case-by-case basis. First payment can begin one year from receipt of loan monies.